Lee's Narrow Escape

— Mosby's Confederacy, First and Second Manassas Campaign —

The Village of Salem (renamed Marshall in 1882) was in the heartland of Col. John Singleton Mosby's Confederacy. His 43rd Battalion of Partisan Rangers was summoned by the grapevine when needed and executed successful raids, often under the cover of darkness. One such action occurred October 5, 1864, one mile southwest of here on Stephenson's Hill. Mosby's men wreaked havoc on Federal soldiers by lobbing artillery shells upon them as they attempted to repair the Manassas Gap Railroad just east of here.

Confederate Gens. Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, and Stuart all stayed in or marched through Salem during the war. On August 25, 1862, Gen. Stonewall Jackson bivouacked here on the way to the Battle of Second Manassas.

One day later, Gen. Robert E. Lee (with Longstreet's Corps) spent the evening at the home of Mrs. John Marshall, daughter-in-law of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. On August 27, Lee accompanied by 12 staff officers and couriers, set out for Manassas well in advance of his troops. Federal cavalry approached dangerously close. Lee's officers formed a line across the road to screen the flight of the commander-in-chief as he speedily rode to the cover of his advance guard. The Federals, on seeing the gray line in the road, thought they were being confronted by a large force of cavalry and turned back. It is believed that this was one of the few instances during the war when Lee was actually in danger of capture.

Following Lee's surrender to U.S. Grant on April 9, 1865, Mosby called the Rangers together on April 21 in Salem and, rather than surrender, formally disbanded the Battalion at a site one-half mile from here.

Other significant Salem sites are identified in the Fauquier Heritage Society's walking tour flyer available here in the Salem Meeting House, which served as a hospital during the war.

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McClellan Relived From Command
Mosby's Rangers Disband
Mosby's Rangers Disband Site
Lee's Narrow Escape
Campaign of Second Manassas
Birthplace of Lt. Presley Neville O'Bannon, USMC
Number 18 School
Oak Hill
Rectortown
Emmanuel Episcopal Church

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